2019/20 Annual Crime Statistics; with Ministry

Meeting report

The Chairperson congratulated the Committee and the Department on the appointment of the new Executive Director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), and the passing of the firearm amnesty extension. She thanked the Department for the release of the crime statistics. She confirmed with the Members that they had just received the presentation. She handed over to the Minister of Police and the South African Police Services (SAPS) to make the presentation.

Briefing by the Minister of Police on the Annual Crime Statistics for 2019/2020
Minister Bheki Cele said that SAPS had released its annual statistics earlier than usual. This change came from a decision made by Cabinet that the release of crime statistics will be quarterly and not annually.

Gen K Sitole, National Commissioner, said that SAPS would present an abridged version of the crime statistics to the Committee. The long version will be released after the Minister released the crime statistics in his press briefing. Gen Sitole said that in general serious crime has decreased by 2.7%. The three provinces who contributed the most to crime have been stabilised – these are the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng. The one province that was of concern was KwaZulu-Natal where the crime rate was rising. More than 12 of the top 30 stations have stabilised. Those 30 stations were also going to be put on the normalisation programme.

Maj Gen T Sekhukhune, Component Head: Crime Registrar, presented the Annual Crime Statistics for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 to the Committee. The presentation highlighted the four broad categories making up the 17 community-reported crimes and the four categories of crimes detected as a result of police action. The presentation showed the trends over a 10-year period of 17 community-reported serious crimes, contact crimes and murder. An overview of crimes against women and children was also discussed. The presentation also highlighted the causative factors of some categories of contact crime.

Murder, which fell under contact crime, increased by 1.4% in the previous quarter. Overall the total of contact crimes increased by 0.7%. Rape, which fell under sexual offences, increased by 1.7%. Overall the total of sexual offences increased by 1.7%. The total of property-related crimes decreased by 5.2%. The total of other serious crimes decreased by 4%. The total of the 17 community-reported serious crimes decreased by 2.7%. The total crime detected as a result of police action decreased by 14.5%.

The overview of crimes against women and children comparing 2018/19 with 2019/20 showed that total sexual offences against women had decreased by 15%. Sexual offences against children had decreased by 9.5%.

Discussion
The Chairperson said that serious violent crime, like murder and sexual offences, have increased over a three year period. These small increases add up to a bigger increase. How was violent crime going to be reduced by 50% over the next nine years if the murder rate keeps on going up? She had a problem with SAPS talking about a 10 year period when the last 3 years have seen an increase in violent crime. She also had a concern that the top 30 stations that were identified a year ago were still in the top 30 currently. Even though some of the stations had a decrease in crime the top 30 stations were still on the list. How can it be said that the interventions are working if the top 30 stations are still the same on the list? She noted that members have not had the time to study the statistics very well because they received the presentation today. She noted with concern that for the last three years there was an upward trend developing with regards to murders. The murder statistics for 2017/2018 increased by 6.9%. In 2018/2019 there was an increase of 3.4% and in 2019/2020 there was an increase of 1.4%. For the last three years murder was up by more than 10%. The comparison of a 10-year period is not the same as a comparison of the last 3-year period. This was quite worrying. She then moved onto the issue of gender based violence and femicide. These issues would be given priority as Women’s Month was starting soon. Would SAPS be able to show that it was serious in attending to gender based violence?

Mr A Whitfield (DA) thanked SAPS for moving swiftly in addressing the brutal farm murders that took place in the Northern Cape over the weekend. He hoped that this would be part of a trend of using the 72 hour activation plan in rural communities to ensure that vicious crimes was clamped down on quickly. He said that usually the crimes statistics were presented in September. Were the statistics presented signed off by Stats South Africa including the slides which contained preliminary figures? He had a question on something the National Police Commissioner had said. The National Commissioner mentioned that crime decreased overall by minus 2.1%. [This appears to be a mis-reading - the figure on the slide is -2.7% change in the total of 17 community reported serious crimes]. If crime decreases by minus 2.1% that actually means it has increased by 2.1%. Does the Commissioner mean that crime has decreased by 2.1% or has it increased by 2.1%? He was confused because on slide 2 rape was up by 1.7% with over 42 000 incidents of rape. On slide 4, which contained preliminary figures, it paints a picture of decreases across almost all crime categories relating to gender based violence. On that slide rape was down by 15.8%. In one slide it was up 1.7% and in another slide it was down 15.8%. He was confused as to whether SAPS was saying that 40% of all rapes were against men. If someone did the maths then it will be discovered that over 16 000 of the total 42 000 rapes must have been against men if the fourth slide is to be believed. He wanted a detailed answer on that question. The members needed to walk away from the meeting with a clear understanding of the crime statistics. Lastly, he wanted to hear from the Hawks about its statistics on crimes committed against the people of South Africa by corrupt politicians and public servants.

Rev K Meshoe (ACDP) raised a concern over the police officials that were killed. How many of the arrests resulted in convictions? Were the people responsible for killing the 73 police officials found guilty? For those who were not found guilty was it because of poor investigations? He then moved onto witchcraft related murders and muthi related murders. What was the difference between the two? Were there witchcraft related murders that had nothing to do with muthi? Was the harvesting of body parts always related to muthi? What were the reasons for the harvesting of body parts? He then had a question on the retrieving of firearms from criminals. Has SAPS made a distinction between retrieving firearms from criminals and retrieving firearms from those firearm owners who did not renew their licenses? How many were actually criminals and how many were people who had just not renewed their license in time? His final question was on the issue of truck hijacking. Some trucks are torched and damaged during the process. Under ‘malicious damage to property’ did SAPS include trucks that were hijacked and damaged? 

Ms J Mofokeng (ANC) said that in future, the Committee needed to be given time to study the statistics. She was worried that there were many slides that could be questioned and studied. The members could not read the presentation thoroughly because they were not given enough time. She also had a question on witchcraft and muthi related murders. How does SAPS separate the two? SAPS also needed to relook at the statistics on domestic related issues and issues of rape. For her there was an increase and this needed to be discussed. A concern she had raised in the previous term was why did SAPS not include domestic violence register information in its reporting? The reports should state how many cases were recorded? How many protection orders were declared? How many people were prosecuted? How many cases were withdrawn? What was the point of having a domestic violence register in police stations if SAPS was not using it? She then moved onto the issue of trucks and hijacking. She gave an example of a truck from SAB that fell on the side of the road and people were collecting liquor from the truck. It caused chaos on the freeway. What was this truck doing there during lockdown? Where was it going? No one is supposed to be selling liquor during lockdown. Truck companies should learn from banks and protect their trucks. Truck companies should put measures in place and have an escort to protect trucks on the road. These companies needed to share the responsibility with SAPS. Why was there no slide on parolees who were rearrested? 19 000 people were about to be released. There should be a slide detailing how many people were rearrested because it was clear that several parolees were rearrested.

The Chairperson said that this was one meeting that cannot be rushed. There was no way that the Committee could complete this meeting within two hours. The Chairperson was of the view that the meeting should be an hour longer. She knew that the Minister had another meeting at 11 o’clock and she was not sure what time the press conference was going to start. The Members were asking detailed questions and these questions necessitated answers. She asked the Members of the Committee if the meeting could continue until 11 o’clock. She also needed an indication from the Minister if the meeting could continue until 11:00. All the questions and responses could not be dealt with in the given time. In this instance it would be tough to say that SAPS should provide written responses to the questions. It would not work. The Committee needed detailed responses. She requested that the meeting be extended to allow for SAPS to respond and more members to ask their questions.

Minister Cele said that they were not able to stay until 11:00 because they had a press briefing at 10:00. If SAPS needed to provide clarity on questions then they did not have a problem arranging another meeting to do so. This was the precedence for the last two years. He did not have a problem coming back with a delegation to explain the statistics.

Ms Z Majozi (IFP) said that there were some concerning issues that arose from the presentation. The Committee and SAPS needed to work together to find ways of addressing those issues. There have been some provinces that have had an increase in crime. SAPS needed to deploy more of the police force in those crime-ridden areas. She also raised a concern over stock theft. What was SAPS going to do to help decrease stock theft? This was an important matter as it affected people’s livelihoods. She then spoke about the issue of domestic violence. She agreed with Ms Mofokeng that a registry needed to be in all police stations. This will make it easier to see how many protection orders have been registered and who the protection orders are taken against. She also wanted an explanation on the rate of crime since the start of lockdown. Was there a major decrease of crime during the lockdown? The cases of rape were really worrying. Has SAPS considered hiring professionals, like social workers, to assist with rape cases in police stations? These people will know how to deal with the issues. Maybe these professionals will be able to create a registry to help assist with rape cases. Many police officers did not know how to handle rape cases properly. There were many unsolved rape cases and this means that perpetrators were not in jail.

Ms P Faku (ANC) raised a point of order. She said after hearing what the Minister had said it should be noted that the Department of Police accounts to this Portfolio Committee. The Department must give the Committee enough time to ask questions. There was nothing wrong in delaying the press briefing. The Committee needed to be satisfied that all the relevant questions could be asked.

Dr P Groenewald (FF+) raised a point of order. The Committee was not performing its role properly if it was dealing with the statistics in the current manner. He suggested that a Committee meeting be scheduled so that SAPS can come and provide answers. It was correct what the Minister had said that at one stage the Portfolio Committee did not even receive the crime statistics before the time. The previous Ministers only made an announcement to the press and the Committee members could not even ask questions. He suggested that the meeting be stopped because the Committee was not going to get proper answers. The members must make a proper analysis of the statistics. He proposed that another meeting be scheduled next week where all the relevant officials will be present and the Committee will be able to have a proper discussion on the statistics.

The Chairperson reminded the Committee that the two week constituency period was starting and that today was the last day they would meet.

Mr K Maphatsoe (ANC) proposed that, since some Members would want follow up questions and the Minister would be rushing to a press conference, the meeting be stopped. The Committee and the SAPS officials would be rushing if the meeting continued. He acknowledged that the members needed to do their constituency work but maybe another meeting could be arranged so that there was enough time to discuss the presentation.

The Chairperson said that there had been a long period of Portfolio Committee meetings and House sittings. She took strong exception to the fact that the Committee had to rush through the crime statistics and that a media briefing has to happen when SAPS reports to the Portfolio Committee. The Portfolio Committee has a responsibility to do its oversight work and on this particular matter she would be relentless. She found the situation to be completely unacceptable. She wanted the Deputy Minister to stay as well as some of the commissioners. She asked SAPS if this was possible? She wanted this meeting to continue to 11 o’clock and the press conference could continue but the Minister and SAPS report to this Committee. It was not the first time that the Committee had to rush through crime statistics because of a press conference. This has happened before where the Committee rushes through crime statistics because there needed to be a press conference. The Committee ended up engaging with the crime statistics through the media. The meeting would continue until eleven o’clock and the Deputy Minister and some of the commissioners should stay until the end of the meeting. The Minister and his team would be released at ten o’clock.

Minister Cele accepted the Chairperson’s order that the meeting will continue until 11:00 and agreed with the Members that there were many areas to still discuss. He said the release of the crime statistics needed to be discussed as well because there was no issue last year. The Committee wanted a new approach and that needed to be discussed. He requested that the Committee take a day out of the constituency period to discuss the statistics and the presentation. He accepted the order from the Chairperson to extend the meeting.

Mr A Shaik Emam (NFP) he welcomed SAPS saying that there was an overall reduction of the crime rate in the country but he had some concerns. There were 58 murders per day in South Africa. There were about 50 car hijackings per day in South Africa. There were also about 130 car thefts in South Africa. What measures was SAPS putting in place, in collaboration with all the relevant Departments, to deal with car hijacking and motor vehicle theft? He wanted to know what percentage of these crimes were firearm related. He also wanted to know what percentage of crimes were alcohol related. What measures were SAPS, and other relevant Departments, putting in place to deal with these issues? He said that 12 women are raped and 14 are sexually assaulted every day in South Africa. There were weaknesses in the Family Violence, Sexual Offences and Child Protection (FCS) Unit. It was not acting optimally. It was not able to deal with the challenges of sexual and gender based violence in South Africa. He then moved onto the issue of farm attacks. Did the Minister believe that something sinister was going on? Was it because of the vulnerability of remote farming communities that they were under attack?

The Chairperson told the Members that they would be going into a two week recess and that the House Chairperson will not allow meeting to be scheduled during the recess. She would not allow meeting during the recess. She said that when the questions were asked and responses were given that the Committee would not be meeting within the next two weeks.

Mr O Terblanche (DA) expressed his discomfort with the meeting. He had serious concerns. He thought that this meeting was sneaked in and was never on the programme. The members did not have the opportunity to study the documents properly. The Committee was in an uncomfortable position because there was going to be a press conference shortly. He was not comfortable what was happening. In the meeting the members also learn that it will be extended by another hour. The Committee does not work like that. The Members had other commitments as well. He wanted the Chairperson to intervene.

The Chairperson told Mr Terblanche that she was trying to intervene and address the matter. She was cognisant of the fact that the meeting was not on the programme. There was pressure to arrange this meeting. She took full responsibility for what was happening today. She also acknowledged that the information was only provided today. She was also uncomfortable with what was happening and that was why she asked for an extension of one hour. She asked for SAPS to provide responses to the questions.

Minister Cele responded to the question asked by Ms Majozi about the lockdown statistics. These statistics were for 2019-2020 up until the end of March. The lockdown started on 27 March so it was not part of the statistics presented. The crime statistics will be released quarterly from now on and the lockdown crime statistics will be released in the next quarterly report. He responded to the Chairperson’s question on the ten-year plan. He agreed that there were matters to be discussed. He said looking at the current figures there has been a form of stabilisation and flattening the curve. The car hijackings did spike but the other figures were stabilising. The murder rate was being stabilised and SAPS wanted it to continue going down. The issue of what is going to happen in 10 years is an issue that needs to be discussed and reports need to be given on that issue. There were quite a number of stations that had moved out of the top 30 and some stations have stayed in the top 30 but with better results. Nyanga police station had never been green before, but it had moved from number one to number four and it is now green. This means that there has been stabilisation for those police stations that were in the top 30. SAPS will be working on the numbers to ensure that crime goes down by 50%. SAPS needed to start somewhere and he believed that the crime rate had been stabilised and then the crime rate will be reduced. He responded to Rev Meshoe’s question about the seizing of firearms. These guns were found due to police operations and were not guns that were surrendered. The statistics reported on guns were from operations like police raids.

Gen Sitole said that SAPS was intensifying the stabilisation process by focusing on the crime hotspots. The focus has been on the four provinces with the most crime and since those provinces have been stabilised SAPS was focusing on the normalisation approach. The normalisation approach included various different disciplines and included the communities. SAPS needed the support of the Committee to push for the adoption of the National Crime Prevention Framework. The National Crime Prevention Framework will instruct the provinces to have provincial crime prevention frameworks. SAPS were workshopping one of these frameworks in the Western Cape and wanted to see it being implemented in all the other provinces. SAPS wanted to deconstruct the crime prevention framework so that it could operate at a local level. The prevention approach involved Government agencies and civil society working together. SAPS were also focused on targeting the syndicates because most of the crime that was experienced at the moment was by organised criminals both at national and transnational level. The unconventional policing approach was also being intensified so that the syndicates could be destroyed. This will help in achieving the target of decreasing crime by 50%. He then responded to the question on why the top 30 police stations stay the same on the list. It was not necessarily because of the crime. It was because of the profile. Some of these police stations are carrying a profile that is supposed to be policed by three police stations. Part of the normalisation approach is for SAPS to increase the access to service delivery. When there has been spatial development and expansions in those areas more police stations were needed to stabilise the profile. Some of those police stations will only be on reduction once service delivery access has been increased. He confirmed that the crime statistics has been signed off by the Director General of Stats SA. He also confirmed that it was an overall decrease of 2.7% of crime in 17 community-related crimes. SAPS did have a structure to work with the banks, which is constituted by the Departments of Labour, Transport and Home Affairs including the trucking companies to ensure measures were put in place and enforced with regards to safety. He responded to the question of the strategy to deploy more police in the hotspots and concerned areas. In terms of the national crime combating strategy the stabilisation resources are going to be withdrawn and redirected to certain areas which have been identified as new hotspots. He noted the concern about stock theft. Stock theft was on a decrease at the moment but SAPS was intensifying the stock theft units. The stock theft units were receiving the same attention as the FCS units. The capacity of those units would be increased through work-study extensions. He then moved onto the issue of car hijackings. Car hijackings were noted as one of the most problematic crimes at the moment. The activation plan has been intensified because this was a type of crime that was organised. The markets that promote hijacking are also going to be targeted. Hijacking was seen as a resourceful crime for other crimes. If hijacking was clamped down on then other crimes would be suppressed. This type of crime was seen as connected to the safer cities approach because it mostly takes place in the urban areas. He then responded to the issue of farm attacks. He confirmed the activation of the rural action plan. SAPS have also intensified the specialised units. He signed off the work study for six specialised units so that those units can assist with a response. There were also dedicated investigations on farm attacks. The agricultural unions and rural communities were also being mobilised to implement sector policing and neighbour watches. Traditional policing was also being activated to increase rural safety. SAPS acknowledged that the crimes that were taking place at the moment were intended to instil fear into the public. They were also crimes which drove investors away. These crimes were also instilling fear into women and children. Apart from increasing the capacity of the FCS units SAPS was also working together with the Presidency and the Committee that deals with gender based violence. SAPS were operationalising the gender based violence strategy. Lastly, SAPS activated the police safety strategy to provide a response to those criminals who are killing the police.

Maj Gen Sekhukhune responded to the questions on witchcraft and muthi related crimes. Witchcraft related crime was when a person was harmed for either being a witch or practicing witchcraft. Muthi related crime was the instances where people are killed for the harvesting of body parts that are used for muthi purposes. He then moved onto the issue of trucks. When SAPS looked at the trucks that were damaged they did not use the same techniques that other countries used when producing the statistics. Other countries have adopted a principle offense rule where if a number of crimes happened in one incident only the most serious crime is reported. In South Africa if there are a number of crimes committed within the same scenario or committed on the same person everything is recorded. Other countries apply a specific rule which is called the principle offense rule where they report only the most serious crime to avoid duplicating the crimes reported. SAPS would propose to the public and the Committee that this would be the ideal way to proceed. This was an internationally accepted standard where the police would decide at what level they would record the crime. In South Africa everything was reported at the input stage and then is investigated. Other countries report crime statistics after they have been finalised at the courts. Across all the crime stats capturing method those countries who have adopted the input phase are always seen as having the highest crime rates. Because everything is registered, before being investigated, [the reporting of some issues] are discovered to be unfounded [only] at a later stage. He clarified that the information on the slides were preliminary. That is why a footnote was included to inform members that the information was preliminary. If SAPS considered the stats as final without being verified then they might be accused of hiding something. SAPS was just making the Committee aware that there is a possibility that there are some cases that could later be classified as unfounded. Some cases needed to be verified and documents need to be checked. SAPS wanted to be transparent with the preliminary information and state that these numbers still needed to be verified. Once they were verified they would be revised and this was a standard practice in statistics. He provided an example of the research done on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures and how the preliminary information would often be realised before the figures were verified. The same practice was being used by SAPS. Once the lockdown situation improves and SAPS was able to verify the statistics it would be revised.

Lt Gen Masemola, Deputy National Commissioner: Policing, responded to the question on protection orders being included in the reporting. It was a matter that could be discussed and can be included in the future. He confirmed that there is a register for protection orders at every police station which indicates how many of them have been served and how many are yet to be served. That register was available at each police station. He then responded to the issue of alcohol contribution to crime. Some of the liquor outlets had been closed but this was not sufficient. During the operations SAPS closed 89 liquor outlets in the financial year. Some of the liquor outlets had their licenses revoked and others had their licenses suspended and given back after a period of suspension. This was the action that SAPS took with various liquor boards when crime happens in those specific liquor outlets.

Mr Maphatsoe said that the Chairperson had to leave the meeting because of an emergency. He took over the Chairperson’s responsibilities for the rest of the meeting.

Lt Gen (Dr) G Lebeya, National Head: Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), said that two questions were directed to the DPCI. Mr Whitfield asked a question on corruption and fraud relating to politicians. That subcategory of stats was not included in the report but the cases themselves are part of the fraud and related matters. Rev Meshoe asked a question on how many convictions were finalised for cases of police officials. During the period under review 67 arrests were made for murder of police officials. 59 of the arrests were committed during this financial year. 8 arrests were effected in older cases where the murder was committed in the previous years. That made a combination of 67 arrests in total. Some of the arrests are effected only at a later stage. He proved an example of how the effecting of arrests only happens at a later stage. There were 20 convictions that were secured during the financial year under review. 8 of the convictions were life sentences. 744 years were given out to these accused persons. The convictions were not necessary related to the new cases which occurred in the financial year under review. One of the convictions referred to a matter that occurred in 2009 where a police officer was killed in Umtata. The suspects were arrested and only in 2019 were the accused persons sentenced. One of the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and then additional years for armed robbery and the possession of a firearm. The second accused was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for murder and then additional years for armed robbery and possession of a firearm.

Lt Gen SC Mfazi, Deputy National Commissioner: Crime Detection, responded to the issues of crimes that instilled fear. There was an upward trend of murders and hijackings. When SAPS was designing the interventions for these specific cases it focused on the generators of this kind of crimes. SAPS focused on drugs, firearms and stock theft. The generators of crimes of fear came from those types of crime. SAPS were also looking at responding to the issue of gender based violence. SAPS needed to look speedily at how best to address the issue of gender based violence. The FCS units were being capacitated. SAPS would be going to the stations that reported high rates of gender based violence to see how to best deal with the scourge of gender based violence. SAPS would be developing a project management approach to dealing with the issue of organised crime and specifically targeting the issue of hijacking. Those operations will be intelligence driven. SAPS had fostered the relationships between detectives, organised crime units and crime intelligence. They have established a forum where they interacted on these specific crimes. It was called the provincial network operations evaluation committee. That compelled detective, organised crime units and crime intelligence to sit and discuss, at the provincial level, the issues related to organised crime. The most wanted criminals have been identified and a list has been compiled at a provincial level. In the past financial year SAPS identified the generators of the crime. SAPS had closed many drug labs. Through operations they had confiscated different types of drugs like crystal meth, cocaine, mandrax and tik all over the country. This indicated that SAPS was directing its operations to reduce the levels of crimes of fear. These crimes were being generated by the availability of drugs and firearms.

Gen Sitole said that SAPS was flattening the curve of crime through stabilisation. The focus was now on multi-disciplinary collaboration and community mobilisation. The focus during the lockdown period has also been on the modernising of policing. The use of online platforms and platforms like the safer city approach encouraged the use of technology. The domestic violence register would be worked on and be reported on in the performance reporting because it was not a stats issue. That information will be generated for the Committee through the performance reports that is usually presented.

Mr Whitfield said that he needed further clarity. The National Commissioner said that the stats had been signed off by Stats SA but a member of the delegation said that the information on the fourth slide was preliminary. The Committee should not be shown preliminary figures. He had asked a question if 40% of all rapes in South Africa were towards men and he had not received an answer. This speaks to the issue of crime statistics being presented in a summary fashion to this Committee. He hoped that SAPS understood the question and he wanted an answer. Either the Committee was dealing with official stats signed off by Stats SA or they were dealing with preliminary figures. If the Committee was being shown preliminary figures then he was not sure what the purpose of the meeting was. He did need an answer as to why there was such a great difference between slide 1 and slide 4. Slide 1 says 42 000 are rapes and then there is a massive decrease on the slide that focuses on gender based violence.

Ms Mofokeng said that she was very worried about the stats. What the National Commissioner was saying and the General was saying was confusing. In the future the stats should be presented to the Committee a day before the media release. The Committee was not able to perform its oversight role as there were more questions than answers. She was very uncomfortable with the current situation. 

Dr Groenewald he agreed that the members needed to thoroughly look into the statistics. He had a question related to the causative factors of crime. How does SAPS distinguish between arguments/misunderstanding not related to domestic and retaliation/revenge? He wanted a comprehensive definition of retaliation/revenge. How was that causative factor determined because retaliation and revenge was sometimes a part of domestic violence? He then spoke about the issue of farm murders. He appreciated that the Committee could receive the farm murder statistics for the last three years. The presentation said there were 46 incidents and he wanted to know what was defined as an incident? A farm attack could also be considered an incident. He also suggested that in the future the Committee should also get the figures of how many farm attacks there were. He appreciated SAPS approach to combating farm attacks in working with agricultural unions and rural communities and hoped that it would succeed.

Ms Faku appreciated the decrease in the crime rates in the financial year. She said it was important to raise the issue of gender based violence. She appreciated the decrease in contact crime against children. It decreased by 6%. She acknowledged that after COVID-19 all the preliminary stats will be verified. She was concerned about the bullying in schools. SAPS needed to give the Committee a detailed report on how this matter will be dealt with in schools. The numbers of bullying in school was high so maybe there needed to be an emphasis on that issue as well. She appreciated the report that they had received on farm murders. She noticed the issue of racism in the presentation. South Africa was a non-racial society and the stats were not that bad but it was an issue that needed to be looked into. Although the time was not enough for the meeting she pleaded with the members to appreciate the stats that they had been given and appreciate the effort that had been made by SAPS. The issues of gender based violence and bullying in schools needed to be corrected. Looking at the crime stats most of these crimes were happening in homes and the crimes were being done by people who are close to the victims. It was important that as churches and religious leaders that blame should not be put on the police. Churches and religious leaders needed to speak about the crimes that were happening because these crimes were happening within homes and places that the victims trust especially when it comes to gender based violence. She thought SAPS was going in the right direction as long as the Committee was playing its role of oversight.

Mr H Shembeni (EFF) raised a concern with detective services. He strongly believed that detective services needed to be prioritised. It seemed as if visible policing was prioritised most of the time. Crimes were being reported and they needed to be investigated thoroughly. He was happy that the Commissioner announced the creation of six specialised units. Murder and robbery units were needed. These different units were needed so that people can concentrate on the work that they do. He emphasised to the National Commissioner that SAPS needed to take care of the detectives. Detectives were withdrawing from detective services to visible policing because they think that the people in visible policing are being taken care of better. The people who were working in detective services were working day and night through holidays and public holidays but they do not get remunerated. These detectives were not being remunerated but instead are getting rest days. The detectives were playing a major role in investigating crime and needed to be prioritised. The police were not taking care of the detectives. These detectives were overburdened, stressed and not resourced. Detectives needed to be motivated. The budget for detectives needed to be priorities and increased. These people hardly get to sleep because they were investigating crime and were not being taken care of. He then moved onto the issue of visible policing. He found it strange driving long distances along the road and not finding a police vehicle. Those roads are very busy and there are no police officers. If there are police officers on the road then they are usually doing nothing. The management were not doing their job because police officers were not rotating. People were now owning posts and knew the areas they would be deployed to. That was not proper management. Police officers needed to be rotated to different posts. No police officer needed to be comfortable in one position. When detectives were asked about the problems of hotspots and why crime was not decreasing then they should provide answers. He said that often there were detective units that were headed by a warrant officer who was in the rank of warrant officer for 20 years. Those around that officer are being promoted but he was not being promoted. That issue needed to be addressed. The SAPS needed to change its strategy on how to motivate its members. The trend of promoting friends needed to be stopped. Some people are only in positions because they have something against the Minister or the Commissioner so they could not be moved. That was not going to help South Africa. The police should not be politicised. Generalisations were not going to help understand the crime stats. The people working in the different police stations needed to report to the Committee to explain what the challenges were. If police officials were not performing then they needed to be removed. There was something wrong happening in the specialised task units and something must be done. He thought that the management of the SAPS needed to change its approach. The National Commissioner needed to bring on board people that will help solve the issues of crime in South Africa. Promotions needed to be deserved. People should only be promoted for a reason.

Mr Maphatsoe said he appreciated the fact that SAPS was taking a multi-disciplinary approach. He was also pleased that SAPS had brought together the detectives, crime intelligence and organised crime units. This will help the fight against the pandemic that is gender based violence. Most of the time the cases were lost because of weak investigations. Sometimes the judge and the prosecutor was blamed when in actual fact the case was very weak. Since the President declared gender based violence a pandemic the SAPS needed to look at using a multi-disciplinary approach to combat the pandemic. Gender based violence was a priority of this Parliament and this Committee and therefore they expected a lot of reports and action from the police. He also said that addressing gang violence needed to be a priority of the police. Gang crime has increased when the President said that gang units needed to be operational nationally. That issue needed to be addressed.

Gen Sitole responded to the question of the difference of numbers in the two slides. One of the reasons that Stats SA signed off the stats as official was because SAPS raised the issue of stations being closed due to COVID-19 infections. SAPS would go back and correct the slides. There were two versions of the crime stats and what was presented today was the short version. There was a longer version which was far more detailed. He suggested that SAPS go back and correct the slide. SAPS should then be given the opportunity to present the longer version of the report to the Committee.

The difference in the statistics between “arguments” and “acts of retaliation/revenge” were territorial. The crimes committed by syndicates and gangs were usually caused by retaliation and revenge. Those incidents were not domestic violence related. In KwaZulu-Natal there were also political killings that were related to revenge. Gen Sitole then moved onto the explanation of 46 incidents on farms. In one incident there was more than one charge. For example a residential robbery might also entail rape and attempted murder in one incident. The same thing applies to farm attacks. He acknowledged that in the future the farm attacks needed to be recorded in more detail. He then moved onto the concern of bullying in schools. SAPS were reviewing school safety and were planning on having a school and campus safety summit. SAPS would be working together with the departments of Basic Education and Higher Education. One of the priorities was the school infrastructure that was under attack at the moment. SAPS wanted to create a specific security plan to deal with this issue. A response to bullying will be provided.

Gen Sitole appreciated the inputs of the Members on the prioritisation of crime detection. He indicated that this year was the restoration of the detectives. That restoration included the resourcing of crime detection. That resourcing was also intended to make sure that the national norms are corrected with regards to the number of dockets carried by detectives. The resourcing will also include upgrading the technology. Another part of the capacitating of detectives was the detective university. SAPS were at an advanced stage in improving the skills of detectives.

On the question on accountability, the Portfolio Committee used to conduct outreach to specific stations of interest where the Committee would ask certain questions and perform oversight. SAPS would be open to this happening again in the future.

The concern over weak investigations and prosecution was noted and SAPS had embarked on an integrated plan which also involved the Department of Justice. In all the investigations at the moment there was an integrated approach between the police and the prosecution. He was not sure about Delft police station and if it was referred to in reduction of rank. He indicated that Delft was one of the top 30 police stations. Those top 30 police stations were all identified for the upgrading to major general. There was no intention to downgrade the rank of Delft police station. Delft was one of the most notorious hotspots in the country.

Mr Maphatsoe – as Acting Chairperson of the meeting - said that SAPS needed to note that the Members were unhappy at receiving the report late because the Committee needed time to scrutinise the stats. The Committee’s role was to perform oversight and not just approve the report. The Committee needed to have time to study the documents so that they could satisfy themselves that the appropriate questions were asked. The Committee has a duty to tell the police where it can improve. The Committee wanted to say with certainty after the meeting that they had engaged with the report constructively and that they highlighted areas for improvement. The Committee would not politicise any matter and if they were unhappy about a matter the police would be called to account. He noted that the media was already being briefed on the stats. He congratulated the Nyanga police station for moving from the number one station with high murder cases to number four. That meant that some good work was being done in that particular area. Other police stations should learn how Nyanga police station managed to turn the situation around. The Committee wanted to perform its oversight role and scrutinise the documents and should be allowed enough time to do so. If the Committee was happy with the work done by the police then they would say so and if the Committee was not happy that would also be communicated. This was done in the interest of the country and to help perform its oversight role. He announced that the reason the Chairperson left the meeting was because she received news that a close relative had died.

The Deputy Minister noted the concerns of the Committee and agreed with the suggestions. He apologised to the leadership of the Committee for having a press conference while the Committee meeting was still ongoing. It sent mixed signals and the issue needed to be addressed.

The meeting was adjourned.